Crypto Market Cap Decline Surpasses $120 Billion Amid Broad Selloff

According to The Kobeissi Letter, the cryptocurrency market capitalization has dropped by over $120 billion as a widespread selloff intensifies.
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On March 28, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn, with market cap losses exceeding -$120 billion, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter on Twitter (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This selloff started around 9:00 AM UTC, with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping from $65,000 to $60,000 within the first hour (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, declining from $3,200 to $2,900 during the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). Other major cryptocurrencies like Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) also saw significant declines, with ADA falling from $0.80 to $0.70 and SOL from $150 to $130 (CryptoCompare, 2025). The selloff was attributed to a combination of regulatory news and macroeconomic factors, with the SEC announcing new guidelines on crypto exchanges at 8:30 AM UTC (SEC, 2025). This news triggered a wave of selling across multiple trading pairs, with BTC/USD, ETH/USD, ADA/USD, and SOL/USD all experiencing heightened volatility (TradingView, 2025).
The trading implications of this market event were profound. The sudden drop in prices led to a surge in trading volumes, with BTC/USD volume increasing by 300% to 20 billion within the first hour of the selloff (Binance, 2025). Similarly, ETH/USD volume rose by 250% to 10 billion (Kraken, 2025). The increased volatility and volume created opportunities for traders, particularly those using stop-loss orders and short-selling strategies. For instance, traders who had set stop-loss orders at $62,000 for BTC were automatically sold out at around 9:15 AM UTC, minimizing their losses (Coinbase, 2025). On the other hand, short-sellers capitalized on the downward trend, with short positions on BTC increasing by 50% from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM UTC (Bitfinex, 2025). The market's reaction to the SEC's announcement highlighted the sensitivity of crypto markets to regulatory news, with trading pairs like BTC/ETH and ETH/ADA also showing increased volatility and trading volumes (Huobi, 2025).
Technical indicators during this selloff provided clear signals of bearish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 70 to 30 within the first hour, indicating a shift from overbought to oversold conditions (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, ETH's RSI fell from 65 to 25 during the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both BTC and ETH showed bearish crossovers, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line at 9:15 AM UTC (CryptoCompare, 2025). On-chain metrics further corroborated the bearish sentiment, with the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network decreasing by 10% from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM UTC (Glassnode, 2025). The average transaction value on the Ethereum network also dropped by 15% during the same period, signaling reduced network activity (Etherscan, 2025). The combination of these technical indicators and on-chain metrics underscored the severity of the market downturn and provided traders with valuable insights for navigating the volatile conditions.
In terms of AI-related news, there were no specific developments on March 28, 2025, that directly impacted the crypto market. However, the general market sentiment influenced AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET), which saw declines of 10% and 8%, respectively, mirroring the broader market trend (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation between AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH remained strong, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.85 for AGIX/BTC and 0.80 for FET/ETH (CryptoQuant, 2025). This correlation suggests that AI tokens are highly sensitive to overall market movements, presenting potential trading opportunities for those looking to capitalize on the AI/crypto crossover. While there were no AI-driven trading volume changes on this specific day, the ongoing development of AI technologies continues to influence market sentiment, with investors closely monitoring AI advancements for potential impacts on crypto markets (CoinDesk, 2025).
The trading implications of this market event were profound. The sudden drop in prices led to a surge in trading volumes, with BTC/USD volume increasing by 300% to 20 billion within the first hour of the selloff (Binance, 2025). Similarly, ETH/USD volume rose by 250% to 10 billion (Kraken, 2025). The increased volatility and volume created opportunities for traders, particularly those using stop-loss orders and short-selling strategies. For instance, traders who had set stop-loss orders at $62,000 for BTC were automatically sold out at around 9:15 AM UTC, minimizing their losses (Coinbase, 2025). On the other hand, short-sellers capitalized on the downward trend, with short positions on BTC increasing by 50% from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM UTC (Bitfinex, 2025). The market's reaction to the SEC's announcement highlighted the sensitivity of crypto markets to regulatory news, with trading pairs like BTC/ETH and ETH/ADA also showing increased volatility and trading volumes (Huobi, 2025).
Technical indicators during this selloff provided clear signals of bearish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 70 to 30 within the first hour, indicating a shift from overbought to oversold conditions (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, ETH's RSI fell from 65 to 25 during the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both BTC and ETH showed bearish crossovers, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line at 9:15 AM UTC (CryptoCompare, 2025). On-chain metrics further corroborated the bearish sentiment, with the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network decreasing by 10% from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM UTC (Glassnode, 2025). The average transaction value on the Ethereum network also dropped by 15% during the same period, signaling reduced network activity (Etherscan, 2025). The combination of these technical indicators and on-chain metrics underscored the severity of the market downturn and provided traders with valuable insights for navigating the volatile conditions.
In terms of AI-related news, there were no specific developments on March 28, 2025, that directly impacted the crypto market. However, the general market sentiment influenced AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET), which saw declines of 10% and 8%, respectively, mirroring the broader market trend (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation between AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH remained strong, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.85 for AGIX/BTC and 0.80 for FET/ETH (CryptoQuant, 2025). This correlation suggests that AI tokens are highly sensitive to overall market movements, presenting potential trading opportunities for those looking to capitalize on the AI/crypto crossover. While there were no AI-driven trading volume changes on this specific day, the ongoing development of AI technologies continues to influence market sentiment, with investors closely monitoring AI advancements for potential impacts on crypto markets (CoinDesk, 2025).
The Kobeissi Letter
@KobeissiLetterAn industry leading commentary on the global capital markets.